


The Prince's Trust

by kerryblaze



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, bondage (light)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-22
Updated: 2011-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-14 23:09:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/154492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerryblaze/pseuds/kerryblaze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the kinkme_merlin prompt – <i>"In some kind of tense situation (face-off with a sorcerer? captured by druids?), bad guys try to throw Arthur off kilter by revealing that Merlin's a sorcerer, or Merlin's in love with him, or by making them fuck... (Or maybe insinuating that Merlin will betray him) And Arthur is all: *shrug* "Yeah, so?"".</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prince's Trust

Most days, Arthur feels that it's awfully good to be a prince and have everything that he wants at his disposal; elegant clothes, the finest food and wine, an enormous comfortable bed, and servants on hand to handle all of his needs… well, mostly all of the servants.

So he doesn't complain much. _'Shut it,'_ he hisses at Merlin's voice haunting him in his head.

So maybe he complains a little. But mostly he's content.

Today is a day when it's certainly not good to be a Prince.

One minute, Arthur's thoroughly enjoying himself while hunting game with his friend and Knight Sir Leon and the next he's waking up in a draughty, poorly lit dungeon with a dry mouth and stiff muscles.

Arthur's certain that farmers never have to worry about being kidnapped and kept in these unacceptable conditions.

He sits up and feels around the back of his head for a lump and worries, yet again, about the long-term effects of being regularly hit in the head will have on him. He finds it… Wait. No. _'Bugger!'_ That's the one still healing from last week.

After a thorough search of his scalp, he finds no new lumps and immediately presumes that he must have been captured by magic.

 _'An evil Sorcerer trying to kill me for revenge against my father... well, it must be Tuesday,'_ he thinks and laughs.

"Find something funny?" a voice says from just outside his cell.

Arthur doesn't look towards the voice and he doesn't respond. He positions himself at the centre of the cell, preparing for an attack. He doesn't have his sword, but he's still wearing his armour and his hand reaches for his dagger. He begins to remove it, planning on aiming it at the voice in dark. Then he stops. Something's not right. Why would someone out to hurt him leave him armed?

His hand falls to his side.

A few years ago, he couldn't have ignored his instinct to fight first and think later. He's different now. He's learnt to be patient. He mutters, "Shut it," to Merlin's laugh in his head.

A tall well-groomed man steps out of the shadows and into his line of sight.

"Definitely, a Sorcerer," Arthur says.

"What gave me away?"

"You hold yourself like a powerful man, but you are wearing no armour and carrying no weapons."

"How very perceptive of you."

"Yes. Well, that and the bright yellow cape."

"Still very perceptive.

A rat runs across the floor and Arthur sighs. "I keep hoping for a tower one of these days. A bit of fresh air… a view of the sky. Dungeons and caves, though excellent for holding prisoners, aren't very romantic."

"My deepest apologies that the accommodations don't meet your expectations," the voice says with thick sarcasm.

"So, what is it this time, Sorcerer? Have you -?"

"Please, Arthur, you may call me Redric."

"Right, then. And, Redric, you may call me your highness, my lord, sire, or sir. So… have you sent a doppelganger back to Camelot in place to fool everyone and try to murder my father? Are you planning on putting me under a spell or maybe have an evil spirit possess me? Because, if you are, they've already been done. Or is it something more basic like holding me for ransom?"

"I don't plan on hurting you, sire. I'm here to save you."

Arthur snorts. "Save me from what? From my evil father?"

"No – no. From someone who wishes to do you harm."

"I have many foes, Redric. I'm the Crowned Prince of Camelot and Uther Pendragon's son, after all. You surely aren't going to protect me from everyone who wishes to harm me."

"Only one. This person is more dangerous than a mere foe. He is your enemy hiding behind the mask of a friend." Redric steps forward until he's only a half a footstep away from the bars. "I'm here to tell you that there is a traitor in your kingdom, your highness, plotting to take over Camelot and all of Albion if we let him."

"A traitor - who?"

"Your servant… Merlin."

Arthur throws his head back and laughs. " _Merlin_ take over Camelot and Albion!" Arthur thinks of when he last saw Merlin this morning, pouting and kicking up a fuss because Arthur ordered him to stay behind and finish his chores that should have been finished the day before. "You're a fool, old man. Merlin is no more a traitor to his kingdom than I am."

"I'm not the fool! It's Merlin who has made you the fool."

"Merlin can barely polish a sword let alone wield one to take over a kingdom!"

"He doesn't need a sword. Heed what I am telling you, young Pendragon, Merlin is a wizard and practicing magic right under your nose."

Arthur's insides clench, but he forces himself to look impassive, calm and slightly amused.

Redric continues, "That's why I brought you here. To show you. Merlin will save you – oh, he'll knock you unconscious like he always does and come up with some poor excuse that you saved yourself and him… but you'll know the truth, because I'm telling you that he won't be able to get through me without using magic."

"How do you know this?" Arthur asks.

"My son. My son has been working here at the castle, watching you and Merlin."

Arthur understands it all now. This man isn't here to destroy him. He feels the dagger lying against his hip and the thought of what this man wants him to do makes him sick to his stomach.

He yanks his dagger off his belt and rushes towards the bars. "No! You are wrong!"

"I am not, my lord. Merlin is a wizard and he –"

"Merlin isn't _just_ a wizard." He stares at Redric, angry and unflinching. "Merlin is a powerful wizard and he is loyal to Camelot and to me and I am not..." Arthur throws the dagger outside the cell, well beyond his reach. "Going to murder him."

"You know? You know and you let him live! You fool!"

"I am not a fool. I trust him."

Redric laughs. "Trust! I don't know what is more humorous. A prince trusting a mere peasant or Uther Pendragon's son trusting a wizard."

"Your son should've watched us better," Arthur says. "We are more than what you've described us to be."

"You are nothing, but Merlin's puppet. He is helping you become King, waiting for you remove the ban on magic, then he will build up an army of sorcerers and he'll take your throne and make _you_ his servant."

"You've lost, old man. Nothing you can say or do will ever make me harm Merlin. I don't know if you want him dead because you want to take over Camelot or because you're afraid of his power, but –"

"He's a traitor," Redric hisses. "You're correct. He is a powerful wizard, probably the most powerful that has ever lived. All that power… any man would become mad with it and hunger for more. He's murdered his own kind to get what he wants. Are you that arrogant, Pendragon, that you think he won't turn on you?"

"Yes. Actually… I am." Arthur grips the bars and leans forward, glaring. "And when Merlin gets here he's going to be very angry. You see, I promised him a special dinner and a long night in bed – in _my_ bed." Redric's eyes widen as he begins to understand. "And Merlin gets very cranky when he's denied food and a good long -"

"Arthur!" Merlin shouts and walks out of the dark, looking embarrassed. "Too much information."

"Where's my son?" Redric asks, panicked. "How'd you…?"

"Saw him on the top of the stairs there," Merlin says, gesturing behind him. "He didn't have time to alert you that I was here. He's, um, a bit of a coward. Told me everything and then ran off." He looks into the cell. "You all right, Arthur?"

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine."

"Not for long," Redric says and turns bright red eyes towards Arthur. A stream of blue light shoots from his fingertips, Arthur ducks and the spell hits the wall behind him, blasting a hole in the stone.

Another attempt doesn't follow because Merlin's eyes glow gold on his angry face and he lifts Redric high into the air and then slams him into the ground.

"We'll show you mercy, Redric, and the choice to run like your son did," Merlin says. "You made a mistake here. Go and leave us alone."

Arthur shakes his head. He really has to work on Merlin's strategies. This bloke isn't going to give up easy and, even if he leaves now, Arthur is certain he'll be back.

"You know I will beat you," Merlin adds. "Think of your son, Redric."

Something moving catches Arthur's eye. He turns and sees the dagger rise off the ground behind Merlin. He shouts, "Merlin, behind you!"

The dagger freezes in mid-air just a hair away before it plunged into Merlin's back between his shoulder blades.

"You leave me no choice," Merlin says firmly, but with sadness and the dagger falls to the floor.

Both wizards begin shouting words unfamiliar to Arthur. Spells with bold colours flash around the dungeon. Arthur feels the warm, stimulating sensation of Merlin's shield spell tingling along his skin and he watches as spells come towards him, but fall short within mere inches.

This is the first time, since he found out about Merlin's magic, that he's seen Merlin duel with another wizard. He'd seen Merlin practice his magic, far away from the castle, in huge green fields, while he watched, praised, and critiqued. But this is different. This is Merlin at his strongest and it makes Arthur feel weak and helpless to just stand by and watch, but also proud and more turned on than when he's the one actually doing the fighting.

The battle goes on too long for Arthur's liking, but he refrains himself from verbally berating Merlin while fighting. _'See. I really have grown,'_ he tells the Merlin voice in his head.

Merlin takes a hit to his left hand and just as Arthur begins to worry, Merlin disappears. Redric looks around confused for only a brief second before his body jerks harshly once and disintegrates into a pile of ash.

Merlin reappears, holding his hand to his chest.

"Bad?" Arthur asks.

"Nah. Just a burn," Merlin replies as he reaches in his pocket with his good hand. He pulls out a ring of keys and opens the cell door.

"Where'd you get the keys?"

"From my pocket."

Merlin grins at Arthur's obvious confusion.

"Merlin! Tell me what is going on!"

"You're in Camelot's dungeons."

"We're… this is…that _bastard_. His backup plan. If I didn't want to kill you myself, he figured I'd leave you down here and I'd let my father do the job."

Merlin lowers his head. "Lucky for me. He picked you. Yeah?"

Arthur smacks Merlin's shoulder. "Not very lucky for me though. It took you long enough to get here when you only had to walk –"

"It was Leon," Merlin interrupts, rolling his eyes. "It took him a while to work out that you just hadn't wandered off looking for more game. Once he got back to Camelot, he came straight to me and I tracked you."

Arthur touches his beloved ring and twists it around his finger, remembering the afternoon that Merlin enchanted it. "So the spell worked?"

"Yeah. It worked."

Feelings of being protected and loved overwhelm Arthur. And no amount of battle training or first-rate weaponry has ever made him feel so powerful.

He doesn't realize that he's smiling until he sees Merlin grinning back at him.

"Let's not test it too often though," Merlin says.

They leave the dungeon and walk together back to Arthur's chambers. They don't speak of the situation until after salve has been rubbed on Merlin's burns and Arthur's armour has been removed.

"So I did all right today?" Merlin asks, shyly.

"I don't know why you waited to finish him off," Arthur replies and immediately feels bad when Merlin frowns.

"I was hoping he'd… er, change his mind and give up."

"He would've come back," Arthur says. "And I'm certain we'll have to deal with his son at some point in the future."

"Never stops, does it?"

"No. Probably not." Arthur clears his throat. "But yes, Merlin. Your powers are impressive. I see you held three spells at once. You've never done that before."

"Yeah," Merlin says. And his bright and excited eyes make Arthur feel better. "I wasn't certain that the shield spell was holding. So it was then?"

"It was."

"How do you know? Can you feel it?"

"You know that I can."

Merlin steps closer and puts his hands on Arthur's chest. "What does it feel like?"

"We've been through this before," Arthur huffs. "I've explained it in great detail."

Merlin's fingers send shivers over Arthur's skin as he trails them through the hair on his chest. It isn't magic because Merlin's eyes are still blue, though it feels like it.

"I want to hear it again," Merlin whispers in a husky voice. "How it makes your skin quiver and –"

"I never said _quiver_. I said tingle."

"Same difference.

Arthur cuts him off, capturing his mouth hard, but not hard enough because Merlin is still grinning under his lips. "Whatever you're grinning about - you're wrong."

"I'm not," Merlin says and pushes Arthur down onto his comfortable princely bed.

"You are."

Merlin lifts Arthur's tunic up over his head. "I'm not and you don't even know what I'm thinking."

"I do." And Arthur does, his cheeks burn with knowing exactly why Merlin's grinning at him and looking very predatory.

"You were turned on watching me fight."

Arthur rolls his eyes, but still lifts his hips to help Merlin remove his trousers. "You have to talk about it, don't you? You can't just let it be what it is."

"Admit it, Arthur," Merlin murmurs against the sensitive skin of his stomach. "Power turns you."

Arthur grabs Merlin, flips him onto his back and hovers over him. "That's ridiculous, Merlin. You doing your chores – now that turns me on."

Merlin laughs. Arthur knows that Merlin knows he's too proud to admit that someone more powerful than him really does turn him on… so very much.

"I know how turned on I get when I watch you fight." Merlin takes control again, pushing Arthur back onto the bed. "Even when you train, I get turned on. Especially when you're blind-folded."

"When I'm… _oh_ …" Arthur blushes deeper, but his body betrays him as blood rushes to his cock so quickly that he feels turned upside down.

"You're right…" Merlin says, his voice husky and filled with want. "No more talking."

It doesn't take long for Merlin to leave the bed and return with the material to wrap around Arthur's eyes and rope to bind his wrists to the bed. Merlin begins to wrap the rope around Arthur's wrist, but Arthur stops him, unsure how to communicate what he wants.

"I'd… I thought you'd… use your magic," he says. "Or can't you keep control of it while you're…" Merlin's eyes turn gold and Arthur's arms lift above his head. "Fuck…" His cock jerks and his hips lift, seeking out something warm and hard to press against.

Merlin looks directly into his eyes, and Arthur worries that he'll need to express his desires for this to continue. But, if what Merlin is looking for is affirmation, he surprises Arthur by finding it without a word and ties the blind-fold around Arthur's eyes.

"Relax," Merlin whispers in his ear. "Do you trust me, Arthur?"

Arthur's never said _'I love you, Merlin'_ , though he does so very much, and he thinks that maybe someday he'll be brave enough to say it. And, even if trusting someone is probably harder for him to do than to love, he finds it easy to say, "Yes. Always."


End file.
